Islamabad, Pakistan - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has claimed responsibility for the capture last August of a 70-year old American citizen in Pakistan, according to SITE, a website that monitors terrorist threats.
"Just as the Americans detain all whom they suspect of links to al Qaeda and the Taliban, even remotely, we detained this man who is neck-deep in American aid to Pakistan since the seventies," al-Zawahiri said in a video posted online, referring to Warren Weinstein, a former U.S. Agency for International Development worker who was abducted August 13 in Lahore.
Al-Zawahiri listed eight conditions for Weinstein's release, including the halting of air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, and the release of Muslim prisoners such as Abu Musab al-Suri, the "Blind Sheikh" Omar Abdul Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, Sayyid Nosair, and relatives of Osama bin Laden.
In comments directed to Weinstein's family, al-Zawahiri says Weinstein's fate rests with U.S. President Barack Obama. "I warn you about the lies and dodging of Obama," al-Zawahiri says in the video.
"He wishes this man to be killed so as to relieve himself of the problem. Obama is a liar. He lied, he lies, and he will lie. He might say to you: 'I sought to release your relative, but al Qaeda was stubborn.' Do not believe him. He might say to you: 'I tried to contact them and they did not answer.' Do not believe him. He might say to you: 'I am doing all that I can to release your relative.' Do not believe him."
Reached at her home in Rockville, Maryland, Weinstein's wife Elaine said, "I just found out myself two minutes ago when somebody told me, I have nothing to add and no information for you."
Weinstein was abducted from his home in Lahore on August 23. As his three security guards prepared for the meal before the Ramadan fast, three men knocked at the front gate and offered food for the meal -- a traditional practice among Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, Lahore police said.
Once the gate was opened, the three men forced their way in, while five others entered the house from the back, tied up the guards and duct-taped their mouths, according to police. They pistol-whipped the driver and forced him to take them to Weinstein's room, where they hit Weinstein in the head with a pistol and forced him out of the house and into a waiting car, police said.
A police official said August 23 that three suspects had been arrested in Weinstein's kidnapping.
Weinstein works for J.E. Austin Associates Inc., a consulting firm based in Arlington, Virginia. He is a development expert, according to the company's website. The company did not immediately respond to a call and an e-mail seeking reaction.
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